Outside of Ronald Acuña, nobody on the Braves has been hitting. Travis d’Arnaud is the only other starter that is batting above the Mendoza Line, and the result has been a sluggish 4-6 start. So in hopes of turning things around, Brian Snitker has decided to juggle the lineup, sliding Freddie Freeman back to the two-hole, where the thrived on his way to the NL MVP last season.
.@MaxFried32 takes the mound tonight vs. the Marlins!
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— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 13, 2021
Marcell Ozuna and d’Arnaud also move up a spot while Albies drops to fifth. Swanson stays at six, and Adrianza gets a start at third base tonight over Austin Riley. I wouldn’t look too much into that. Riley has actually been one of the better hitters on the Braves thus far; this is likely nothing more than a night off.
Personally, I don’t really think moving Freeman, Ozuna, and d’Arnaud up a spot is the answer to the Braves offensive woes. It made sense last year with the DH, but without the DH, there will be much fewer RBI opportunities for the Braves best two bats — Acuña and Freeman.
With that being said, sometimes things just need to be jumbled up to provide a spark. This could be one of those moments. The Braves need a shot in the arm from somewhere. They are nearly hitting below the Mendoza Line as a team, and if it weren’t for Acuña, they very well could have lost nine of their first ten games.
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